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1996
1996 was Hollyoaks's second year of production. In July 1996, the show went on a hiatus which lasted until September 1996. This was due to the show only being commissioned for 36 episodes to see how popular a teen soap opera would be. Upon the show's return, the show was broadcast twice a week, with a second episode being transmitted on Thursdays. Early in the year, Channel 4 began pushing producers to tackle issue-based storylines, due to the soap not being viewed as seriously as other rival soaps. In March 1996, Hollyoaks's aired it's first issue-based storyline - the death of Natasha Andersen caused by an ecstacy overdose. The storyline was based off the death of Leah Betts, who died of an ecstacy overdose shortly after her eighteenth birthday. The storyline, although controversial, was very positively received among viewers. Events Hollyoaks events , Rob Hawthorne, Lucy Benson and Carol Groves crash into River Dee.]] *1st January - Jane Andersen and Ruth Osborne arrive in the village. (First appearances of the characters) *8th January - Carol Groves arrives in the village. (First appearance of the character) *9th January - Ruby Button is born. *11th March - Natasha Andersen collapses during her friend Lucy Benson's 18th birthday party when Rob Hawthorne spikes her drink. *18th March - Jude Cunningham arrives in the village. (First appearance of the character). Natasha Andersen dies of a drug overdose caused by Rob Hawthorne in hospital. (Final appearance of the character) *6th May - Susi Harrison arrives in the village. (First appearance of the character) *13th May - Michael St. John Thomas arrives in the village. (First appearance of the character) *8th July - The Andersen family move to the United States. (Final appearances of Greg, Sarah and Jane Andersen) *30th September - Lucy Benson's friend, Allie Williams, arrives in the village. (First appearance of the character) *7th October - Mandy Richardson arrives in the village. (First appearance of the character) *18th November - Rob Hawthorne and Dermot Ashton rob Rob's drug dealer's lock up, bringing Lucy Benson and Carol Groves as alibis. The dealers catch him but in the ensuing car chase, Rob loses control of the car whilst trying to stop Dermot throwing the money out the window, crashing the car into River Dee. Rob, Lucy and Carol survive but Dermot dies. (Final appearance of Dermot Ashton) Real life events *28th February - Rukku Nahar (Asha Kaur) is born. *8th July - Hollyoaks takes a break. The show was originally commissioned for 38 episodes to see how it would be received. The show was received well and was re-commissioned. *23rd September - Hollyoaks returns after being re-commissioned. *26th September - Beginning with Episode 40, Hollyoaks introduces a Thursday episode and begins airing two episodes per week. Major Storylines The Teens *Natasha Andersen died from an unintentional drug overdose after her drink was spiked by Rob Hawthorne and Dermot Ashton. The teens suspected that Rob played a role in Natasha's death, but Rob went unpunished due to the lack of evidence. *Rob Hawthorne and Dermot Ashton robbed a drug dealer's lock-up, in which they were caught and a car chase ensued. Dermot starting throwing money out of the window to get the dealers off their backs but Rob lost control of the car trying to stop him, crashing into River Dee. Dermot was killed in the accident. *The teens started to get revenge on Rob Hawthorne for Natasha Andersen's death when Lucy Benson lead Rob to the drug dealers whom he had stolen from. The drug dealers threw Rob off the roof of a multi-storey car park. Cunningham family *Jude Cunningham returned home and also had problems with Terry Williams. Jude, Cindy and Dawn Cunningham ended up moving out. *Terry Williams and Angela Cunningham married, but Terry soon fled the village, leaving Angela with his £55,000 debt. Andersen/Osborne family *Following Natasha Andersen's death, the Andersen family decided to sell The Dog in the Pond and move to the United States. *The Osborne family, consisting of parents Celia and Jack Osborne and their two children, Ruth and Darren Osborne, moved to the village after purchasing The Dog in the Pond from the Andersens. Other characters *Tony Hutchinson and Julie Matthews's relationship hit a bad patch and, when Tony went on holiday to Ibiza with his friends, he ended up sleeping with 14 different women. Cast Changes *The role of Cindy Cunningham was recast, with Stephanie Waring taking over the role from Laura Crossley. Debuts See also: Category:1996 debuts. Returns None Departures See also: Category:1996 departures. Episodes See also: Category:1996 episodes. See also *Category:1996 minor characters *Category:1996 births *Category:1996 marriages *Category:1996 deaths Category:1990s Category:1996